The Cleveland Cavaliers have received a rather sobering prediction after finishing with the best record in the East last season.
The Cleveland Cavaliers won 64 games and finished with the top seed in the Eastern Conference last season, but they were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs again.
Now, with the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers weakened and the rest of the East incredibly watered down, the Cavaliers could very well end up with the No. 1 seed for the second straight year. In fact, they absolutely should.
But will Cleveland be able to win 60-plus games again?
Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes doesn't think so, predicting the Cavs to go 57-25 thanks to a couple of different factors.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell. Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images."The Cleveland Cavaliers are still the best bet to finish atop the East standings, but they'll be hard pressed to match last year's 64 wins," Hughes wrote. "Darius Garland is set to miss several weeks to start the season, and Max Strus will be out even longer, per Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. In addition to players forced to rest, the Cavs might also take a more liberal stance toward suggesting nights off for their healthier bodies. Donovan Mitchell has a history of nursing injuries in the playoffs, and new addition Lonzo Ball might as well be kept on ice as often as possible."
One thing we need to keep in mind is that the Cavaliers have not really earned the right to coast. They haven't won anything yet. They haven't even made it to the conference finals with this current group. However, it's also important to remember that Cleveland's Core Four has shown a penchant toward getting injured, which could result in the Cavs taking it easy during the regular season.
In spite of Hughes' rather modest win-loss record projection, though, he still views the Cavaliers as the best bet to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals.
"Evan Mobley could be a top-five candidate for MVP, Jarrett Allen is a steady option at center and most of the East won't pose a threat to the Cavs—even when they're playing at less than full strength," Hughes added. "That means the floor is still higher here than it is anywhere else in the conference."
The Cavaliers' top competition in the East this coming season will probably be the New York Knicks, who Cleveland handled pretty easily last year.
This is, by far, the Cavs' easiest path to the finals in the Mitchell era, so if they don't make a playoff run into June this time, it might seriously be time to consider breaking up the nucleus.